This application claims the priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2003-84725,filed on Nov. 26, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input apparatus for a multi-layer on-screen display and a method of generating an input signal for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An on-screen display (OSD) is a program used to select menus in TVs or monitors. A conventional OSD used in display devices such as TVs and monitors is configured with one layer. In the one-layer OSD, a menu selection is realized using a hierarchy method of searching from an upper menu to a lower menu in the lower menu selection. That is, to select a lower menu, an upper menu is first selected and then the lower menu is selected step by step, and to select another lower menu, an upper menu is first selected again and then the lower menu is selected step by step. The menu selection method is not so inconvenient for TVs or monitors in which a number of menus is small. However, in TVs or monitors in which a plurality of menus are required due to various functions, the one-layer OSD is inconvenient to users.
The problem can be solved using a multi-layer OSD. Since the multi-layer OSD includes multiple layers each including a plurality of menus, a menu can be selected while moving among the layers. The multi-layer OSD can be utilized as a menu selection method of digital TVs requiring various functional menus.
As an input apparatus for the multi-layer OSD, there is a conventional remote control device using buttons. However, the conventional remote control device requires a plurality of additional buttons for each layer. Therefore, there is a need for an input apparatus for inputting signals on the basis of a user's input operation and an input signal generating method for the same.